Using personalization technologies for political purposes: Privacy implications

Abstract

A growing body of literature has recently focused on the adoption of personalization methods and tools traditionally used in e-commerce, in the area of political marketing and communication. However, the impact of adopting personalization applications for political purposes has not been studied yet. This paper contributes to filling this gap, by analyzing privacy threats stemming from the use of personalization tools for political purposes and identifying their impact on individuals and society. This paper also identifies issues that need further research, as big data, individual targeting, the development of behavioral science and sophisticated personalization techniques are reshaping political communication and pose new privacy risks.